In The Dark Of The Night
by Felicia Zezili
Summary: COMPLETED SEPT 21! A series of murders are linked to a Sith cult. After a Jedi Master then dies under unexplained circumstances Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon investigate but if they are not careful they will be the next victims of the cult.
1. Prologue Out of luck

Title: In the Dark of the Night  
Author: Felicia Zezili   
Summary: A series of murders are linked to a Sith cult. After a Jedi Master then dies under unexplained circumstances Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon investigate but if they are not careful they will be the next victims of the cult. (Probably not the best summary but it is more interesting then it sounds. I think. You be the judge.) 

Rating: PG-13 (Violence/angst and a little language)   
Time frame: Obi-Wan 17   
Author's notes: here it is the rewritten version of "speak no evil" a lot has changed some stuff is the same like the character names but there are many differences almost nothing like the original I think. And as for the title I got it from the Anastasia Movie soundtrack and the words to the song just seem to go with the story. Why did I decide to change it? Well if you didn't read the reason I put on the thread then here it is: The story wasn't really going where I had hoped it was and to tell the truth I hadn't really thought much of it out after chapter 3 I was winging it. Also I want the characters to be more developed especially Master Bodil (Poor Master Bodil he didn't even get an on screen role) and Kelilah's character cause this is gonna become a series and I wanted her to have a more active role, which wasn't happening in "Speak no Evil" as I had her in a hospital bed for most of the fic.    

Feedback: Yes please! Feedback always puts a smile on my face especially enthusiastic reviews and constructive criticism.    
Quick note: italics are thoughts and // is communicating through the force.  

Warning: this first part is a little sad! Sorry! 

  
Prologue 

Out of Luck   
  
Sadira Vali ran down one of the darken alleys of the city Coruscant. She held her daughter close to her chest. There was no way in the seven hells that she would let them take her daughter! No way! Sadira took a second to turn and look back. They were gaining on her. She looked around frantically praying to the force that she could find somewhere to hide. Sadira's three-year-old daughter gave out a small cry.

"Shhh…hush Kelilah everything will be alright but you must be quiet." Sadira soothed the young girl but even she doubted her own words. Would everything be all right? She looked back again, strands of her long dark brown hair flying in her face, nothing would be all right if she didn't find a safe place to take her daughter. 

Sadira began to run again _Oh force what am I going to do?_ She thought to herself. Then she saw it a small basement window. It looked just big enough for her to get into and hide until those monsters passed by. She quickly went over to the window and crawled in taking Kelilah with her. 

When Sadira's feet landed on the ground she pressed her body up against the wall as she heard the footsteps enter the alley. She hugged Kelilah close to her and closed her eyes bringing up the strongest shields she could construct. 

When the footsteps stopped right next to the window Sadira could have sworn that her heart stopped. She didn't move, didn't breath. She just prayed that they would move on and search somewhere else. 

Her prays must have been heard because after a few seconds that seemed more like an eternity she could hear footsteps walking away from where she was and out of the alley. Sadira let out a breath. She looked down at Kelilah who stared back at her with big green eyes. Sadira smiled.

"It's alright little one I won't let them hurt you anymore." She promised her daughter and then kissed her on the top of the head. Then Sadira looked around. She had to get out of here. They had lost their pursuers for now but they would catch up to the mother and daughter in no time. 

There was a set of stairs that led up to a door. Sadira didn't know where they led but at the moment they didn't seem to have much choice. It wasn't safe to stay in one place to long. She walked up the steps and slowly pushed the door open. 

Sadira found herself in one of the many bars that populated the lower levels of the citywide planet. No one seemed to notice the woman of 25 enter with a small child clinging to her. Perhaps that was a good thing the less attention they gathered the better. Sadira walked to the bar's exit and walked out into a more crowded street. Even that the late hours the planet was alive and bustling.  

Sadira began to walk with the crowd trying to blend in as much as she could. Then she suddenly stopped sensing a dark presence in the force. Sadira looked around and then she saw him. Her blood ran cold and fear gripped her heart. //No! I will not let you take her!// Sadira sent through the force. A few seconds later a reply came to her, //It is her destiny.// She heard a cold voice in her mind say. Sadira shook her head and began to back up bumping into people as she did so. A few cursed at her in different languages but she paid them no mind all she wanted was to get as far away from that man as possible. 

Sadira stepped onto a clear part of the street now with a little more room to maneuver she began to run again.  She looked back for a second to see if they were being followed but that lapse of focus cost her.

As Sadira turned a corner still looking back, a speeder bike was coming from the other side. When Sadira finally looked in front of her and saw the speeder bike there wasn't much time to react. So going on instinct she tossed Kelilah from her grasp hoping that the child would not be too hurt from the fall. It would be better then getting hit by a speeder bike that was for sure. The speeder bike hit Sadira on the right side sending her flying several feet. 

                                                           ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jedi Master Anton Bodil walked down the busy lower level street. He wasn't sure what had brought him down there. It was just a feeling like there was something that he had to accomplish. As he walked he noticed a human woman with long dark hair clutching a child ran down the opposite direction that he was going. As the woman passed he watched her. There was something about her but he just turned his attention back to his front.

Then he felt it a loud warning from the force. Master Bodil turned and saw everything in a split second.  A speeder bike was rounding the corner and the woman who had just passed him was standing right in it's path. She was looking behind he and did not seem aware of the bike. Then she turned and he saw her become pale. The woman threw the child she was holding to the side. Master Bodil quickly went into action using his Jedi speed to reach the child before she hit the hard ground. 

He caught the girl with ease and then looked back out into the street even with Jedi speed there was no way that he could have reached the mother in time. The speeder hit her and threw her several feet into the air. She finally landed hard on the ground. 

A crowd began to gather and the person who was driving the speeder bike stopped and hurried over to the woman. Master Bodil was not far behind and when he reached the crowd, the Jedi Master pushed himself to the front and kneeled down next to the woman. He looked her over. She looked to e in much pain. There were bruises on her face and some blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth. Upon using the force master Bodil discovered that her internal injuries were server. 

"Someone call a medic!" master Bodil called. He was still holding the child in his arms as he kneeled before the woman. She opened her eyes and looked up at the Jedi and then turned her gaze to her daughter. She took a breath then once again looked to master Bodil. Her lips began to tremble.

"D…Don't let them…hur…hurt her." She said and then coughed up some blood. Master Bodil leaned down closer for the woman was hard to hear.

"Don't let who hurt her?" the Jedi master asked. The Woman took a shuddering breath. She was fading fast. Her eyes were beginning to close in eternal sleep.

"S…Sith." She said then died. Master Bodil leaned back. The young girl he held began to fight his grasp. She twisted her body around to look down at her mother. 

"Mama?" She asked in a small vulnerable voice. "Mama?"

                                                       ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The dark figure stood in the shadows and watched the commotion. He would have gone out and grabbed the girl if not for that damn Jedi showing up. He had been chasing the run away for the past hour and just when he thought he had her she ends up getting herself killed and endangering the child. 

That was all that was important, the child she was the future their future and he would get her if it were the last thing he did. 


	2. Chapter 1 As I watch the world around m...

Chapter 1   
As I watch the world around me fall 

(14 years later) 

 "The episodes have become more frequent lately and after they pass she's even more withdrawn then before." Master Bodil said as he sat in a doctor's office. For the past few months he had been making frequent visits to this place.  Ever since the Jedi Healers said that could not do anything for his Padawan and the mysterious blackouts (for lack of a better term) she was suffering from, the Jedi Master had sought out alternative care but he still got the same sad looks and apologies.

"I'm sorry Master Bodil but we have done all we possible can. We have done hundreds of test and I have personally talked to some of the best in the medical profession and as far as we can tell there is nothing physically wrong with her." Doctor Lekis tired to explain with as much compassion she could muster. Master Bodil rubbed his forehead. He had heard this same reply before from many other doctors and quiet frankly he was starting to believe that medical personnel were given scripts on what to say in such a situation. Doctor Lekis saw the Jedi's frustration and felt something needed to be said, "Master Bodil you must understand my position—" Master looked up at her his eyes blazing.

"No! You must understand MY position. You are asking my to go and tell my Padawan that once again that the modern miracles of the medical field have failed." At that last statement Master Bodil stood from his chair and excused himself from the room.  

Master Bodil walked out into the waiting room where his Padawan 17-year-old Kelilah Vali was. He stopped in the doorway and just stared at her for a moment. If he looked hard enough he could still see the energetic little 5-year-old that he would have to chase down the halls every now and then. Kelilah used to be so open when she was younger, so eager to make friends with everyone around her. 

But that all changed when she began to suffer from this mysterious illness. They came on quickly and then passed just as fast, leaving no evidence of anything happing except that Kelilah would be come very quiet and depressed. Whenever Master Bodil questioned her about it. She would try to change the subject or say she had class work to finish up or any other number of excuses. 

But his padawan deliberately hiding something from him wasn't the worst part. The worst part was she never smiled anymore. 

"Master?" The sound of Kelilah's voice brought the Jedi back to the real world. "What did Doctor Lekis say?" She asked rising from her seat. 

"The same." Master Bodil's heart ached as he saw the defeated look come over Kelilah's face. "Kel there are still other doctor's on other planets who—" Kelilah's soft voice cut him off.

"I'm tired Master." She said. "I'm tired of going to one doctor after another and hearing the same apologizes and the pitying looks. I don't want to do this anymore." She looked up him with a pleading look. Master Bodil could see unshed tears I her eyes. 

"All right Kel." He said quietly. "All right lets go home." Just then Master Bodil's comlink went off. "Go wait in the speeder Kelilah. I'll be out in a second." Kelilah nodded and walked out of the waiting room. Master Bodil took out his comlink and activated it. "Bodil." He said into it. 

"You Jedi think you are so invincible." A hard voice said on the other end of the transmission. "You have no idea what's in store for you." A low chuckle was then heard. 

"Who is this?" instead of a reply the low chuckle continued and grew louder till it became a menacing laugh. 

Master Bodil's eyes grew wide as a burning sensation began to fill his chest. He suddenly found it difficult to breath and was becoming light headed. Before he lost consciousness the Jedi sent a message to his padawan. //Kelilah! // 

Smoke bellowed out of the large opening in the ceiling of the Jedi Temple Memorial Hall. Around the circular room, lined with tall windows that let the light of Coruscant into the dimly lit space, stood hundreds of Jedi paying their last respects to Master Anton Bodil. 

Among those present were the members of Jedi council, those who had gone through temple training with the fallen Jedi and others whom master Bodil had touched in someway, one of those Jedi being Master Qui-Gon who stood somberly with his Padawan 17-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi by his side.

Obi-Wan glanced over at Kelilah. He had only met her once about two years ago. She was his age with black hair that fell to her shoulder and the most vivid green eyes he had ever seen. She had been very quiet, he could not remember her speaking more then three words and wasn't very sociable, having few friends if any since she mostly kept to herself. Most of the other Padawans thought her to be a snob. Other then that he didn't know too much about her except through reputation. From what he heard she was extremely smart, brilliant in fact. She was in all the top classes and way ahead of the normal grade level for a person her age. 

  
She must have sensed him staring at her because her eyes rose to meet his. He quickly diverted his gaze back to the funeral pyre. He felt a chill run threw him. Her gaze was so intense. It was like she was looking into you instead of at you. Like she was looking into your very soul.   
  
As the last of the fires died down, the Jedi began to leave the hall. Docent Cheevy entered the hall having some trouble getting past the throng of Jedi that were exiting. She finally made it over to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. The Docent bowed respectfully.

"Mast Jinn you have a visitor." The docent informed him. Qui-Gon nodded and followed her out of the memorial hall. 

Outside in the hall Senator Basilio stood admiring the painting of past masters that were mounted on the wall. The senator turned as he heard someone approaching and smiled as he recognized his long time friend, Qui-Gon Jinn. 

"It's good to see you old friend." Senator Basilio said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I only wish this reunion could have been under better circumstances." 

"Does something trouble you?" Qui-Gon asked as the two began to walk. 

"Yes." Basilio confessed. "My daughter has gone missing. It's been a week now since I last heard from her." Qui-Gon remained silent for a moment. 

"Have you not taken this to the security force?" Senator Basilio stopped walking and turned to face the Jedi master. He looked Qui-Gon straight in the eye.

"Qui-Gon, I'm asking you as a friend to help me. I fear the worst for her." Qui-Gon looked at his friend with compassion. He could understand the man's worry. The Jedi master had felt the same when his Padawan had been taken by a Sith lord over a year ago. The experience had caused him to almost lose Obi-Wan for good and not only because of the Sith. 

Qui-Gon was about to agree to help the senator when he felt a disturbance in the force coming from the memorial Hall where he had left Obi-Wan and Kelilah.   

"Something wrong Qui-Gon?" Basilio asked. Qui-Gon didn't reply but only made off down the hall with Senator Basilio following from behind. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Obi-Wan had remained in the memorial hall after his master and the docent left. He looked over at Kelilah feeling the need to say something but not knowing exactly what. Qui-Gon was better at consoling people then he was. Finally he began to feel like a fool just standing there and walked over to the grieving padawan. 

"I'm sorry for your lose Kelilah." The young woman turned when he spoke and looked him up and down. She turned back to the funeral pyre without saying a word. But Obi-Wan wasn't about to give up and decided to take another approach. " I heard it was coronary." Kelilah made a sound that was in the middle of a bitter laugh and grunt. Obi-Wan thought that reaction interesting. "You don't believe so?" Kelilah turned to him. 

"I don't think the healers believe it was either." She said. There was another lapse of silence. 

"Kelilah if you need anyone to talk—" 

"Obi-Wan did you know that you and I were in the same lightsaber class together a few years back?" The question caught the young man off guard. 

"Ah…no. Wait I thought you were in upper classes?" 

"In academics yes but when it comes to the physical aspect I have the short end of the gimmer stick. But that's not the point. The point is all that time I was in that class you didn't acknowledge me once. Now you take an interest? I don't need your pity." 

"Kelilah it's not pity." Obi-Wan began in his defense but Kelilah eyed him. "Okay maybe a little pity but—"

"No! Stop right there! I want to get one thing straight and I hope you pass this around. I don't want or need your help or anyone else's understood? My business it just that, mine." With that she turned and began to exit the memorial hall but then she stopped and turned. Obi-Wan could feel it too.

Abruptly the windows that encircled the room began to shatter one by one sending flying shards of glass everywhere. Obi-Wan ran over to Kelilah and pushed her to the ground and pressed his body over her to help prevent the shards from cutting her. 

Obi-Wan chanced looking up as the shards of glass flew through the air. He saw a man dressed entirely in black, jump into the hall from the circular opening in the ceiling. As the man landed the shards fell to the ground. 

Obi-Wan stood his hand on his lightsaber hilt ready to defend himself and Kelilah. The man drew his own lightsaber and charged the padawan. Obi-Wan brought up his lightening blue lightsaber to block the blow easily. Then he whirled to his left trying to draw the man away from Kelilah and to where he had more room to maneuver. 

The man charged at Obi-Wan again. _Whoever this guy is_, Obi-Wan thought to himself, _He has limited ability with the lightsaber._ The young man easily ducked the blow that was aimed for his head and kicked his leg out, kicking the man's feet right out under him. 

The man knew that he couldn't win this battle but he wasn't going to be captured. As a last ditch effort he raised his hand and force pushed Obi-Wan back several meters. Obi-Wan body slammed against the opposite wall and then slumped to the ground. 

The man looked over at Kelilah and grinned menacingly. He took a step towards the young woman but stopped as Qui-Gon and Senator Basilio entered the memorial hall. The man retreated through the ceiling hole in which he entered the room. 

Qui-Gon had seen the man make his escape and jumped through the ceiling hole after him but when he made it up there, the man was no where to be seen. 


	3. Chapter 2 Tormented Soul

Chapter 2 

Tormented soul

Clink Clink Clink Obi-Wan gradually came back into consciousness. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He opened his eyes and looked around. Standing beside him was Master Healer Laria. She was picking small pieces of the glass from the shattered windows out of the young man's skin. The "clink" sound he had heard was the tiny pieces of glass being dropped into a tray, held by Amaele. 

"Morning sunshine!" Amaele said cheerfully when she noticed Obi-Wan was awake. The only response the padawan gave was a slight groan. 

"How long have I been out?"

"Only about a half an hour." Healer Laria responded not looking up from her task.  Obi-wan began to sit up with some help from Amaele. "What happened in there Obi-Wan?" 

"The masters have tried to get information from Kelilah but she's not saying anything." Amaele added.

"We were attacked after the memorial service. It was man wearing all black with a lightsaber. Wasn't very skilled with the weapon though." Obi-Wan said gingerly touching the back of his head where he felt a lump. Healer Laria looked up at Obi-Wan and then over to her apprentice. 

"Amaele, I'm done here. I want you to bandage him up for me. I'm going to speak with the masters." 

"Yes Master." Amaele said as Healer Laria left the room. Then the young apprentice set right to work at bandaging Obi-Wan's wounds. 

Healer Laria walked down the tall hallway that lead to the council chambers but when she arrived she saw Qui-Gon, Master Windu and Master Yoda standing outside the doors of the chamber. The healer bowed to the three men as she drew closer to them. 

"Master Jinn, your apprentice is awake and doing well. Amaele is just finishing up with him." Laria informed Qui-Gon. 

"Thank you Laria." 

"Did you question him about the attack?" Master Windu asked. Laria recited to the three Jedi what Obi-Wan had said to her. After a few moments of contemplation Master Windu spoke. "What your Padawan describes Qui-Gon, sounds like a Sith." 

"I do not believe that it was a Sith, Mace." Qui-Gon stated. Yoda looked up at the tall Jedi with interest.

"Reason for this have you?" the tiny master asked in his usual dialect. 

"I have no doubt of Obi-Wan's abilities but if their attacker had been a Sith even an apprentice, he would not have made it out alive." Qui-Gon explained. Mace nodded in agreement. Only a fully trained Jedi could defeat a Sith with the dark side as his ally. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Obi-Wan left the healers ward after Amaele had cared for his wounds. It had taken some convincing on his part to get the apprentice healer to let him leave on his own. She had insisted that he needed a hover chair and an escort. Obi-Wan smiled and shook his head. Amaele had become very overprotective of him ever since he almost died over a year ago. As he walked down the hall towards his and Qui-Gon's quarters he saw a familiar figure ahead of him. It was Kelilah. Obi-Wan quickened his pace till he reached her. 

"Hey," Obi-Wan said as he walked next to her. Kelilah didn't respond to his greeting and actually began to walk a bit faster. But Obi-Wan was too headstrong to give up that easily. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right." 

"Well I think it's clear that I am." She replied a little sharply. "I don't need an escort." 

"Fine. I'm not here to escort you. I'm just walking." Obi-Wan replied. Kelilah stopped suddenly and turned to him. 

"Your not going to leave me alone are you?" 

"Well you see that's the thing with me, I see someone in need and I want to help. I'm really trying to work on it though." Kelilah rolled her eyes and started walking again. 

"I thought I made it clear I don't want or need any help." 

"By what happened in the Memorial hall I'd say you do or is it that in your culture someone attacking you a sign of affection?" Kelilah had no reply for him and they continued the walk in silence. As they walked Obi-Wan began to notice that Kelilah was growing pale and her pace was becoming slower and slower. 

"Are you okay?" To his own ears it sounded like a dumb question as anyone that wasn't blind could see that she wasn't.

"I've never been okay." Kelilah said miserably. She moved over to the wall and leaned against it for support. Obi-Wan went over to her side. 

"I'm getting a healer," He said taking out his COM link but Kelilah grabbed his arm and shook her head no. But Obi-Wan's concern only grew as she let go of him and slid down to the ground. She held her head and made small whimpering noises. She then swiftly looked up but her eyes were distant as though she was looking at something that wasn't there. 

"NO! NO! Leave her alone! She didn't do anything! NO!" Kelilah began crying out. Obi-Wan kneeled down and grabbed her shoulders.

"Kelilah!" He called trying to get her out of whatever kind of trance she was in. Then suddenly he began to see things in his mind. He saw a woman probably in her late twenties tied to a post or something that was anchored to the ground. There was pure fear in her face and she looked up as a figure stepped in front of her. Obi-Wan could still see part of her face and it looked as though she was struggling to breath. 

Then the image vanished and Obi-Wan found himself back in the Temple hallway. He looked down at Kelilah. Her eyes were clear no and there were unshed tears in them. She looked up at him for a second then pushed him out of the way, got back to her feet and retreated down the hall. 

"Kelilah! Kel wait!" Obi-Wan called but it was no use the young woman was gone. Obi-Wan stood there in utter confusion. "What the hell just happened?" he wondered out loud. 

He considered about going after Kelilah but his comlink began to beep 

"Yeah?" Obi-Wan said activating it. 

"Obi-Wan, I need you to meet me down at platform C-15." It was Qui-Gon. 

"Yes Master." 

When Obi-Wan arrived on platform C-15, Qui-Gon was waiting in the driver's seat of a cloud car. Without a word Obi-Wan climbed into the passengers seat and the two were off.  

As they drove Qui-Gon would occasionally look over to his padawan. The young man had a serious expression on his face and Qui-Gon knew that it wasn't just the serious look that Obi-Wan had during missions but the look he held when something was on his mind. Qui-Gon would usually berate his apprentice for not focusing on the here and now but the vibe that he was getting from Obi-Wan told the Jedi master that is was something serious.

"Something bothering you Padawan?" Qui-Gon asked. Obi-Wan remained silent for a moment. 

"Something happened earlier." Obi-Wan said not knowing exactly how to explain the event in the hall. 

"What happened?" Qui-Gon persisted.

" I don't know. I was walking with Kelilah in the hall, and then she began to look very ill. It was like she began to have a seizure or something and when I touched her I began seeing things in my mind." Obi-Wan looked over to Qui-Gon waiting for the Jedi Master to offer some kind of explanation or anything to ease his mind but none came.  

"I'm sorry Obi-Wan, I don't know what to tell you." Qui-Gon said. "Perhaps you should Kelilah about it." Obi-Wan gave a snort.

"Yeah I'm sure she'll open right up for me." 

"Give her some time. She'll talk but it'll be under her terms." 

Qui-Gon steered the cloud car down towards the lower levels of Coruscant. There was already much activating going on with Security force personnel going in and out of one of the buildings and a crowd of onlookers that had began to assemble, curious as to what was happening. 

After Qui-Gon parked, he and Obi-Wan exited the vehicle and walked through the crowd. They came to the front door but were blocked from entering. 

"Oh gods, it's you two." The familiar voice said.

"Good to see you too Captain Yur T'aug." Qui-Gon replied. 

"What are you doing here Jedi?" 

"I received a message that Senator Basilio's daughter was found. Senator Basilio asked for my assistance." Captain Yur T'aug glared at the two Jedi and reluctantly stepped aside to let them pass.

The two Jedi entered the building followed by Captain Yur T'aug. It was dark except for a little illumination from lamps set up by the security force personnel. By what Obi-Wan could see the room they were in was high ceiling and completely devoid of any type of furnishings. There were rows of support beams that went from the floor to ceiling and no windows. 

"Captain! You better come see this!" One of the other officers called to Yur T'aug. The Captain and Jedi ran to where the voice of the officer was heard. The officer was kneeling next to Adara Basilio's body, which was tied to one of the support beams. Yur T'aug kneeled down next to the other officer. The officer took reached out with her gloved hand and tilted Adara's head up ward. Yur T'aug looked to where the officer indicated and then leaned back on his heels with a sigh.

"Damn." He said under his breath. Then called out, "Someone call Arsene! Tell her we got another one of hers!" 

Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan tense next to him. He looked at the boy with concern. Obi-Wan looked at Qui-Gon, shock written all over his face. 

"That's the woman I saw." He said in a shaky voice.   


	4. Chapter 3 Pursue the truth

Chapter 3

Pursue the Truth

 Inspector Megara Arsene sat in her office located in the security force building. The office was furnished with the usual things a desk, file cabinets and other seats but had no personal touch to it, no holophotos of family and friends and nothing hanging on the walls. She had been working in the district for two years and had been repeatedly questioned by colleagues as to why she kept her office that way and she would give the same answer each time. "Personal effects are a distraction from the job." 

There was a knock at her door. The 35-year old looked up to see Eikki Kivi, a male human in his late thirties enter. "Hey super cop," he said. "Got another one for you." He handed her the file. "Latest victim is the glamorous Adara Basilio." 

"Have cause of death?" Arsene asked as she skimmed the information. It contained the usual description of the victim, how they were found and back history. 

"No. The body was just sent down to the morgue. They want you to stop by and give it look. Make sure it's defiantly one of yours." Arsene nodded and tossed the file onto her desk "By the way you have some people who want to speak with you." Kivi mentioned as he began to leave. She gave him a questioning look. "A Master Qui-Gon Jinn, his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi and Senator Basilio." 

"Two Jedi and a Senator?" Arsene looked skyward for a moment. "Gods help me." She looked back at Kivi. "All right, send them in." Kivi grinned and left the office. A few minutes later Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Senator Basilio entered. Arsene stood up from her seat.

"Good afternoon gentlemen." She said respectfully as she shook each of their hands. They each sat down and Arsene went right down to business. "Now I'm going to blunt." She said leaning forward. "I see no reason for you gentlemen to be here. With the Jedi this really does not seem like a job that people with your skills would be interested in and Senator Basilio with your daughter being a victim, your presence could affect the outcome of our investigation." She paused. "To sum it up, it will be a waste of your time and a strain on my patience." 

The room grew silent after that. Obi-Wan looked to his master to see any type of reaction from the Jedi but as usual there was none. Qui-Gon had taken in the inspector's reasons calmly. 

"You present your case quite well inspector." Qui-Gon commented, "but as Jedi my padawan and myself have take a vow as protectors of the republic and this killer is targeting citizens of the republic therefore it is not below us." Obi-Wan looked back at the woman sitting at the desk, proud of his master's reply. 

"I have been working on this case for two years now and we are no closer to finding the perpetrator then from day one. I honestly don't believe adding a Jedi Master and his apprentice to the mix will have a big impact." Arsene said leaning back.

"Sounds as though you have already given up on finding this guy." Obi-Wan commented. 

"You have to understand what kind of environment we are living in. Do you have any idea how many crimes are committed in this district alone? Now you take that number and times it by the amount of districts there are. The total is staggering and there are just not enough security force personnel to counter. As a result some crimes go unsolved, victims unjustified." She looked to Qui-Gon. "As Jedi you must relate to this. So many problems in the Galaxy but only a limited amount of Jedi." 

"We do what we can." 

"As do I." 

"But why continue an investigation on a case you believe will never be solved?"

Arsene shrugged. "Victims keep showing up and…" She looked over at Senator Basilio, "Victim's family members keep paying big money to keep the case open." Arsene sighed and looked at her chrono. "It's obvious that this will not be resolved any time soon and I have a date with a body at the morgue. I suppose since you are a part of this case now that you should come along." Senator Basilio stood. 

"Inspector, I would like to come along also. I wish to see my daughter one last time." 

The four walked down the florescent light hall of the morgue in the basement of the medical center. At the end of the hall was a pair of double doors that were marked 'authorized personnel only'. Arsene pressed a button on the panel on the wall and the doors opened.  She looked Over to Obi-Wan.

"Every been to an autopsy kid?" She said.

"No." Obi-Wan replied.

"Well you're a Jedi, you've probably seen more messed up stuff then me." She smiled and walked through the doors.

On the other side of the door was a room that felt refrigerated and smelt of formaldehyde. It reminded Obi-Wan of Biology class when they used to dissect small creatures. There was a male Twi'lek with red skin standing at a metal table where the body of Adara Basilio. There was a sheet covering her body that went up to just below the shoulders.  

"This is Mord Odell. He's the Pathologist who working with us in the investigation." Arsene said to the three men beside her. The Twi'lek nodded to them as way of greeting. Arsene walked over next to the Odell. "Have you done an external exam?" 

"Yes I just finished up. There are abrasions on her wrists and ankles from where she struggled against the cuffs that held her. A piece of skin has been removed from about an inch below the ear." The Pathologist said as he pointed out the specific areas. Arsene looked closely at the where the skin had been cut away. It had been the same way for each victim. A piece of skin was cut away very intricately. At first they had thought it to be some type of calling card for the killer or a trophy he took from the victim. But then the question was: why that certain spot?

After some lab test they had found indications that a tattoo had been present on the removed skin. Now the question was: Why remove the tattoo? They had come up with several different scenarios. One person even brought up the topic of  'skin art dealing'. It was know in some cultures for a person with a tattoo to have a clause in their will that says that the skin with the tattoo be removed, persevered and given to the family members after their death. There were even a few art showcases that featured skin art. And as crazy at that sounded they couldn't rule out any possibilities at this point. 

"Have you determined cause of death yet?" Arsene asked still looking at the body. 

"Won't be able to till I cut into her." 

"Well let's get started." 

Odell paused. "Should he be here during this?" the Twi'lek asked indicating Obi-Wan. 

"You want to leave kid?" Arsene asked.

"No, I'm fine." Obi-wan said indignantly. The teenager was getting a bit annoyed at being treated like a child that needed to be protected from the harsh realties of life. Qui-Gon placed a calming hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. 

"All right then." 

The room grew deathly quiet while the autopsy was being preformed like it was out of respect for the dead. Through it all Senator Basilio held the same stone cold look on his face. If he was feeling any kind of emotion at watching the scene before him, he didn't show any indication. That was until he left the room. 

"Her esophagus has been crushed from the inside." Odell said. 

"How can that be?" Arsene asked. 

"You got me there. I've never seen anything like this." Odell said as he began to clean up. 

"Thank you for your assistance Odell." Arsene said shaking the man's hand. " We'll keep in touch." 

"Glad to be of help." 

Arsene, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan left the room and stepped out into the hall where Senator Basilio waited. The man didn't seem to notice that they had joined him in the hall but only stared straight ahead not looking at anything. 

"Senator Basilio, are you alright?" Arsene asked. This was why she hated having family members involved in cases. 

"Yes I'm fine." The senator said still staring straight ahead. 

"Okay I think we have done enough for today." The inspector said looking over to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. "Stop by my office tomorrow and I'll show you the files on the other victims. Their deaths are as odd as Adara's." 

After Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had made it back to the temple. Obi-Wan had gone off to the healer's ward. While they were coming back from the morgue the Jedi apprentice had thought about what had happened between him and Kelilah.   Did Kelilah have these types of visions often? Does she know anything about these murders or was it some kind of coincidence? How had he seen the vision by only touching her shoulder? 

This was all just getting more complicated. He needed answers now but with Kelilah refusing to talk about anything personal, Obi-Wan was forced to seek alternative means to get the information he needed and he knew just where to get it. 

 Amaele Olvan sat at a computer console in the registration area of the Healer's Ward. It was where patients signed in and out and where most of the filing was done. Lucky for Amaele it was her turn to update patient files. It was a tedious job that took hours.

She heard one of the doors open and looked up to see Obi-Wan enter the room. _Oh what does he want?_

"Hey Amaele." Obi-Wan said as he walked toward her. 

"That innocent tone is not fooling me for an instant. What do you want?" Obi-Wan looked offended by the comment. "Obi please, I have no time for this. Do you have any idea how long I'll be here and I can't fall behind?" 

"Okay here's what I need." Obi-Wan said as he went around to the other side of the desk. Amaele rolled her eyes. " I need the medical history of Kelilah Vali." 

"I can't let you see personal files." 

"Amaele please, it's important. I wouldn't waste your time if it wasn't." Obi-Wan said in all seriousness. Amaele looked at him for a few minutes trying to see if what he was saying was the truth. 

She sighed. "All right." She began to type and the file appeared on the screen. The two of them began reading the information that was presented. "Force, This girls been in the healer's ward almost as much as you." 

"For what?" 

Amaele began reading off the screen "Patient experienced symptoms similar to seizures cause of episode still undetermined as no physical disorder was discovered." Amaele looked at the top of the screen. "That was back January 10th." She clicked back to the main page. There was a whole list of entries similar to the first.

January 22

February 13

April 11

April 25

May 7

June 12

July 23

"It ends after July 23? What happened it just stopped?" Obi-Wan asked when he saw no more entries made after that date. 

"No. I think since the healers could never find anything, her Master took her to outside medical centers." 

"Can you print this stuff out for me?" 

"Sure, why not? I'm only a pawn in your game." Amaele said s the pages began to print. Obi-Wan picked on up and looked at it. 

"No," he said "You're a very important piece."    


	5. Chapter 4 Revelations

Chapter 4

Revelations

 "Obi-Wan, wake up!" The sound of Qui-Gon's voice cut into Obi-Wan's deep sleep. The young man's eyes snapped open and he immediately sat up. He had fallen asleep at his desk after spending a good portion of last night reading through the file he had Amaele give him on Kelilah. 

"I'm up. I'm up." Obi-Wan mumbled as he ran a hand over his face and through his short hair. He stood from the chair and stretched. Then grabbed a fresh tunic and pants and went into the fresher. 

After he was washed and changed he went back into his room and grabbed his belt, lightsaber and COM link. He strapped the belt on and attached the Lightsaber to it. Then walked out into the common room 

The door chime sounded. Qui-Gon stood from his seat at the couch, walked over to the door and activated it. On the other side of the door was a middle-aged male human holding a satchel.  

"Master Qui-Gon Jinn?" The man asked. 

"Yes." 

The man extended his hand. "I'm officer Eikki Kivi. Inspector Arsene sent me." Qui-Gon shook the man's hand and invited him into the apartment. 

"We were heading over to meet with inspector Arsene in a few minutes." Qui-Gon explained. 

"That's why she sent me. She received a call from our superior, Chief Titus. She won't be able to see you today but she did leave you something" Kivi explained. He went into his satchel and pulled out three data pads and a holo-projector. He set the holo-projector on the coffee table and activated it. Almost immediately a small transparent image of Inspector Arsene appeared. 

"Master Jinn, the three data pads that officer Kivi has brought you are the files on the other victims. There are 9 victims altogether including Adara. The first data pad has the back ground for each victim, the second has the details of their deaths and the third is new information that we have on the missing skin piece. We believe we know what the tattoo looked like. Officer Kivi will answer any questions you may have." At that the small holo disappeared. 

Officer Kivi handed Qui-Gon the data pads. Upon turning on the first one a menu of names came up. The Jedi master clicked on one of the names and pages of background information appeared. For each name the same thing happened. 

After reading the information thoroughly, Qui-Gon began to find common links between the victims. All seem to be of the high class, very successful and they gained that success quickly and held onto it. They also had a few shady incidences in their past. 

Qui-Gon then turned on the third data pad. "Odell called a specialist in to look at Adara and run some more tests." Kivi explained. "They came up with a sketch of what the tattoo might have looked like." Qui-Gon looked closely at the picture of the tattoo that appeared. It looked like two three prong pitchforks that crossed each other at the tips. 

"The mark of Shane." He muttered. 

"What? You know what it is?" 

Qui-Gon looked up at the officer. "It resembles a tattoo that was worn by a Sith named Shane back during the wars. He had a large group of followers and Shane would brand them with the same symbol." Qui-Gon turned to his apprentice "You should know this, it was a part of your history lesson." 

"What happened to this Shane?" Kivi asked. He had taken out a pad and was hurriedly taking information down. 

"He died around the end of the wars and his followers disbanded." Obi-Wan said. 

"But the wars were hundreds of years ago, none of these people were around back then." 

"Then it appears that they never did disbanded." Qui-Gon mused and picked up the second data pad. "Inspector Arsene mentioned that the deaths were strange?" Qui-Gon said as he scrolled down the information. 

"Um…yeah a few of them were. The first couple looked like suicides but the skin thing was done post mortem. So we started to suspect foul play." He handed Qui-Gon the data pad with the details on the nature of the deaths. "Then it got a little weird. There was that big shot millionaire, Lugh Dechtire, they said that his blood reversed flow." Kivi seemed a little unease as he explained this to them. 

"Reversed flow?" Obi-Wan asked. He had never heard of anything like that. 

"Yeah. I don't really know all the details to that one though." Kivi walked over next to Qui-Gon. He scrolled down the information on the data pad and then stopped once he came to a picture. "This is something you don't see everyday, spontaneous combustion." Obi-Wan walked over to the two men and looked at the data pad. Qui-Gon handed it over to his apprentice. 

"Can't many of these be explained by science?" Qui-Gon asked 

"Yeah, but that's the thing they can't find anything that would cause these things." 

"What are dates of the victims deaths?" Obi-Wan asked suddenly

"The date is in the general information." Kivi explained. The officer was somewhat confused by the younger Jedi's concern of the date when it really held no relevance. Qui-Gon was also curious as to what his apprentice was getting at. He watched as Obi-Wan ran into his room then came back out a few seconds later with a slip of paper. 

"Master, remember I told you about that vision that Kelilah had and I saw Senator Basilio's daughter?" Qui-Gon nodded. "Last night I went to the healer's and did a little research on Kelilah. She has a whole history of these types of seizures. If that episode that Kelilah just had coincided with a death of the most recent victim, then what was to say all her others didn't?" Obi-Wan picked up the data pad and began scanning through the information. The same dates from Kelilah's file began appearing. He handed the data pad and paper over to Qui-Gon. 

Qui-Gon looked down at the data pad, and then looked up to see his padawan grab his cloak and head for the door. "Where are you going?" 

"To find Kelilah. She knows something." 

"We should inform the council they could locate her faster." Qui-Gon said as he took out his COM link. Obi-Wan turned back. 

"No!" Qui-Gon was taken back by his padawan's sudden outburst. "I'm sorry master." Obi-Wan apologized quickly " but I didn't have permission from Kelilah or the council to get the information. If you inform that council about this then Kelilah will know and then she won't talk." 

"The council will have to know sooner or later Padawan." 

"I know but please just give me some time to talk with her." Qui-Gon considered this for a moment. What Obi-Wan said was true. Kelilah did have a habit of keeping quiet. When they questioned her about what had happened in the memorial hall she claimed to not remember what had happened because it all went by so fast. Qui-Gon could sense the girl was lying but she had been through so much he decided not to push her. 

"You believe you can get her to talk about this?" The Jedi master asked. 

"Yes Master I can. I will." Obi-Wan said with great conviction. Qui-Gon nodded his approval and Obi-Wan left the apartment. 

"You think he can do it?" Kivi asked. 

"I believe wholeheartedly he can." Qui-Gon said with a small smile. 

Obi-Wan walked down to the Jedi temple's hall of archives. Obi-Wan had heard from one of the younger initiates that Kelilah assisted Madame Jocasta Nu ever once in a while. He was hoping she would be there this morning. 

The young man walked past the rows of computer consoles and up to Jocasta Nu. "Can I help you?" The elderly woman asked in a stern voice. Obi-Wan explained to her who he was seeking and why. Jocasta Nu nodded and pointed Obi-Wan in the direction where Kelilah was helping a student look up information. 

Kelilah must have sensed him coming toward her because she stood and looked in his direction. She had the same unpleasant look on her face. "Do you even have a life anymore?" She asked when he was within earshot. 

"It's patiently waiting for me at the moment." He replied. "I need to speak with you Kelilah." 

"I'm busy." Kelilah said turning back to the student she was helping. 

"I know about 'The Mark of Shane'." Obi-Wan said calmly. It was a long shot but he had nothing else to go on. Kelilah stopped what she was doing. 

"Narvi, if you need any more help ask Madame Jocasta Nu." She said to the student. She stood up, grabbed Obi-Wan's arm and dragged him away from the others. "What do you want?" 

"Just to talk." 

"About?" 

"About what you know about these murders that have been happening in the upper class." 

"I don't know anything about that." She said and began to walk away. 

"Then why are you having visions about them?" called after her. She stopped and turned.

"How do you know about that?" 

"When I touched you I saw it too." Kelilah grew silent 

"Fine I'll talk." She looked around at the other people in the hall of archives. "But not here. Not in the Temple." 

"I know the perfect place." Obi-Wan said with a satisfied smile.

Obi-Wan signed out one of the speeders and drove Kelilah and himself down to the business section of Coco town. He parked the speeder before a small building. I looked like a typical diner, resembling a trailer with metallic wall and foggy windows. 

"Dex's Diner." Obi-Wan announced. 

"Your must be joking." Kelilah said. 

"It's a nice place." Obi-Wan said in defense. 

She examined the diner. "What is your definition of nice?" 

"Come on." Obi-Wan said as he got out of the speeder. Kelilah sighed and climbed out of the passenger side and followed Obi-Wan inside. 

Inside the diner it was crowded and noisy with customers. Booths lined the walls and stools stood against the counter. Obi-Wan led Kelilah to one of the booths and the two sat down. A few seconds later a waitress droid came up to them, "What'll ya be having?" the droid asked. 

"Today's special." Obi-Wan said. 

"And you girlie?" the droid asked Kelilah. 

"Just something to drink." The droid rolled away with their orders. 

"You're not eating?" 

"I doubt this place has anything not completely submerged in grease." 

Obi-Wan was about to inquire Kelilah about the murders when suddenly someone cried out from behind him. "Obi-Wan! How are ya buddy." Obi-Wan turned in his seat with a smile to see Dexter Jettster coming towards them from behind the counter.

"Hey Dex." Obi-Wan replied.  

"What brings ya down here?"

"Just having breakfast with a friend." Obi-Wan said indicating Kelilah. Dex turned toward Kelilah. He smiled widely at her. 

"Any friend of Obi-Wan's is a friend of mine." Dex said shaking the young woman's hand. Once Dex let go of her Kelilah pulled her hand back and massaged it. Dex had a particularly firm grip. 

"You know Dex, Kelilah here can't decide what she wants to order. Since all your dishes sound so appetizing." Obi-Wan said. He looked over at Kelilah who was giving him a death look. 

"Oh I'll help ya there. I'll make ya one of my famous omelets filled with meat and vegetables." Dex walked away from the two and back behind the counter. Obi-Wan and Kelilah remained silent as the other customers around them chatted noisily to one another.

"So why didn't you want to talk about this at the temple?" Obi-Wan asked 

"Nature of conversation." Kelilah said simply. "You really saw that vision I had?" Obi-Wan nodded. Their waitress droid came back with their plates of food. Kelilah began to pick at her food. "Their not usually that bad." She said quietly. "I rarely have outburst like that. It must have been my master death and all. I lost focus." 

"Do you know why you have them?" Obi-Wan asked bring the fork up to his mouth. Kelilah didn't answer at first. She finally took a bit of her food. 

"When I was 13, I was kidnapped by this cult. They tortured me, did horrible things to me. When my master found me and rescued me the visions started. I think it's another torture. They make me see these people die. I can feel their pain." She explained. "This food is horrible." She spit the bit of food in her mouth into a napkin. 

"Do you know they are being killed?" 

Kelilah shook her head. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to ask another question but Kelilah cut him off. "I don't know why you think I know anymore then the family members of the people who died."  

"What do you mean?" 

"The members of the cult are very exclusive you have to be the child of a member or married to a member." 

Obi-Wan thought about this for a second, "Wait then that would mean Senator Basilio has to be a member. Why would he ask Qui-Gon for help then?" Obi-Wan pulled out his COM link. "We have to go." He said as tried to call Qui-Gon. 


	6. Chapter 5 Sins of the Mother

Chapter 5

Sins of the Mother

Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Inspector Arsene stood outside Senator Basilio's apartment. Arsene rang the door chime and waited for an answer.

 After Obi-Wan had contacted Qui-Gon and explained to his master what Kelilah had said to him in the diner, the Jedi Master told Obi-Wan to bring Kelilah back to the Temple while him and officer Kivi try to contact Inspector Arsene. 

When the two were finally able to reach the inspector and explain the new developments in the investigation, She told them to meet her at the Senator's apartment where they would confront the man with what they knew. 

The Senator seemed surprised to see the two Jedi and inspector at his door but he invited them in all the same. "Have there been new developments in the case?" he asked in a slightly shaky tone. 

"There have been a few new developments, Senator" Arsene said as she walked into the apartment. "But we'd like to ask you a few questions." 

"I have already told you everything I know." Basilio insisted. 

"We have heard from another source that you are withholding information." Arsene shot back. The Senator grew silent. "If you are not telling us everything Senator you will be suspected in having a part in your daughter's murder." 

"I can't!" The Senator cried out suddenly. Qui-Gon took the Senator by the arm and steered him to a chair then took a seat across from the man. The Senator placed his head in his hands. 

"Senator," Qui-Gon said leaning forward, "Why can't you tell us?" 

"Because he'll kill me. Like he killed the others and my daughter." Basilio said with despair. "Oh Gods you have no idea how much it hurt to know that monster killed her and I wasn't able to do anything about it."

"Who is he?" Qui-Gon asked The Senator looked up at Qui-Gon 

"The man in the memorial hall, who attacked your apprentice and the girl." The senator sat back in the chair and stared down at his hands. "It's all going to the seven hells but he refuses to believe it." He began to ramble, "All those people died because they questioned him. Adara tired to run but he went after her. He was making examples of them." 

"If you knew she was dead why did you request my help?" 

The Senator stopped his rambling and looked up at the Jedi with a small ironic smile. "I thought you could do something." He then looked over to inspector Arsene with scorn. "Gods know they can't!" he said. Arsene was about to protest but Qui-Gon held up a hand and the inspector held her tongue. "Besides," the Senator continued, "You've done a good job keeping that girl safe all these years." 

"Girl?"

"The one in the Memorial Hall."

"What does he want with Kelilah?" Obi-Wan asked as a bad feeling began to creep up his spin.

"He wants her because of what he believes she is." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kelilah entered her new quarters she had just moved into. After Master Bodil died she was required to move into a temporary room in the initiate wing until she was assigned another master. Most of her things were still in the three boxes by the far wall.    
  
She lay down on the bed staring up at the ceiling. It was all becoming so complicated. It uses to be simple. Keep your mouth shut. Don't say anything about it. But after her master's death it became out of control.

Her master. It was so hard with her master gone. She never talked to him about any of it but it was just nice to have someone who cared about what happened to her, someone to protect her. Now she had no one. 

Her comlink began beeping. Kelilah took out the small device and activated it. "Hello." She said in a miserable voice. 

"Hello Kelilah." The voice on the other end said. Kelilah immediately sat up. 

"What do you want?" She demanded. 

"I'm disappointed in you Kelilah." She knew that she should end the transmission now but she couldn't his voice was hypnotic. "You've always been so good at keeping this little secret. You never even told your master—"

"The master you killed!" She shot back. 

"The point is Kelilah, you told that boy things. Things that could endanger everything and you must be reprimanded for that."

Still holding the comlink in one hand, Kelilah felt herself stand up but it wasn't under her own will power that she did this. Some other force was controlling her motions. She walked into the fresher and up to the vanity mirror. The mirror began to shake in the frame that held it to the wall. It shattered into pieces that flew onto the floor and sink and others flew through the air, cutting the young woman who stood in front of it. 

She reached down and picked up one of the larger pieces of glass. Her hand shook slightly as she tried to fight against the force that was making her do this. But she was so tired of it all and it would be so much easier to just end it. And she would be with her master. 

By the time Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had left Senator Basilio's apartment, after question the man for several more hours it was dark out. Inspector Arsene and officer Kivi had taken the Senator back to Security force headquarters to put him under protective custody. The Senator had no problem with this arrangement and practically insisted on it, convinced that the leader of the sith cult would come after him. 

As the two Jedi began to once again make the trip back to the temple, Obi-wan was feeling particularly frustrated. From what Senator Basilio had said, Kelilah had left out many details from their conversation earlier. The first being that she had escaped form the same cult that the victims were all from, when she was three and that this man in black, who had attacked them earlier, had been after her ever since. 

Qui-Gon parked the speeder on the landing platform. As Obi-Wan was stepping out of the passenger's side he spotted one of his friends, Drell Tre, signing out one of the other speeders. 

"Hey Obi." Drell said as he walked towards his friend. 

"Hey Drell, where you heading." 

"Just got to pick up a few things." He said stepping into the speeder he signed out. "Hear this case you're working on is pretty tough." 

"You could say that." Obi-Wan replied, and then began to tell Drell of some of the highlights of their investigation.

"I don't Obi, sounds a bit neat to me." Drell stated. Obi-Wan gave him a curious look

"Neat?" 

"Well first there's Senator Basilio who comes to your master for help finding his missing daughter who is found on the exact same day. Then the sketches of what the tattoos on the victims look like show up. Two very big coincidences if you ask me." Drell began to explain. "I mean this case has been going on for two years and the security force can't come up on any leads? But when you and Qui-Gon enter the scene things began to happen. The security force on this planet may leave more to be desired but their not that bad." 

Obi-Wan leaned against Drell's speeder taking a moment to think about what his friend had said. "You think there could be someone working on the inside?" 

"Well I don't know all the details. It could really be just a big coincidence. You do have a knack for being one of the luckiest 3@#$% in the galaxy." 

Obi-Wan smiled, "Thanks Drell." He stepped away from the speeder.

"Where you heading?" 

"I thought I would pay another visit to Kelilah. I need to speak with her about a few things." 

"You're developing quite an obsession with this girl. Have any other intentions motivating you?" 

"Drell, not everyone thinks like you."

"Yes they do. You just can't admit it." Drell started up his speeder. "See ya later Kenobi. Hey when you get this case out of the way drop me a message and well have a practice duel." Obi-Wan waved after his friend as the speeder drove off into the airways. 

Obi-Wan turned towards the temple and walked to the entrance to begin his search for Kelilah. He still was thinking about what Drell had said. He had never really thought about it before but now that it was brought to his attention it made sense. 

As he walked the temple halls the calm and serenity of the surrounding cleared his mind and he was surprised at what he felt. It was a presence in the force but not one that he was used to feeling. It wasn't Qui-Gon's. Qui-Gon's presence had a confident feel to it. It wasn't Amaele's or any of his other close friends. This presence felt wounded and confused but still held a spark of determination. And then it came to Obi-Wan. It was what he felt coming from Kelilah whenever he was around her. 

Obi-Wan stopped walking for a minute. How could he feel her force presence from here? He didn't have any close bond to her. He ignored the question going through his mind for a second. If it helped him find her faster it was for the best. 

Obi-Wan followed the force presence to where it was the strongest. He became concerned when it brought him to the Healer's ward. The bad feeling he had earlier began to return as he walked in. 

He found Amaele sitting at the same desk she was at the night before. "Amaele is Kelilah here?" he asked 

"Yes. How did you know that she was—" 

"That's not important." Obi-Wan said hurriedly. "Where is she?" 

"The Mental ward." 

"Mental ward?!" 

"She tried to kill herself. Slit her wrist. Even did it the right way. Luckily for her she was holding that comlink and had enough strength to send a signal to the healer's. They found her on the fresher floor. Looked like she broke the mirror then cut herself with one of the pieces. They said—" Obi-Wan couldn't wait around for anymore of Amaele's explanation. 

"What room?" 

"Obi, you can't see her the council said—" but Amaele couldn't even get the words out as Obi-Wan ran off down the hall towards the mental ward. Looking into one room after another. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kelilah was sitting up in the healer's ward bed. She wore the hospital gown and her hands where strapped with harness to prevent from hurting herself. She stared out o the window that gave a view of the temple gardens. She'd been in hospital environment enough she knew the routine down cold.  Hopefully nothing had changed since she was last here or the chances of her getting out where slim. 

She smiled as she saw some of the healer apprentices come around with small carts with medications to distribute to the patients. One the apprentices came into Kelilah's room. She smiled as she said, "Good evening." Kelilah nodded back to her. 

Outside in the hall two healer apprentices passed one another. Kelilah used the force to cause the carts to crash into each other and topple over spilling the medications on the floor. The healer who was in her room went out into the hall to help her companions, leaving the cart by the door. 

Kelilah smiled to herself. She may be bad at the physical portion of being a Jedi but when it came to the powers of the mind that was a whole different story. She concentrated hard and the cart began to come over to her. She used the force and undid the restraints around her wrists. She looked over the various drugs on the cart. She saw a sedative and reached over and grabbed bottle and a syringe. She filled the syringe with the drug and placed the bottle back on the cart. She hid the syringe under the left long sleeve of the hospital gown. She then sat back and closed her eyes exhausted by the task. 

The Healer apprentice returned. Se saw that Kelilah was lying down with her eyes closed. She left the pills the healer's had prescribed on the side table and left the room. 

Once the Healer was gone, Kelilah opened her eyes and sat up again. She could hear him coming from down the hall and his healer friend protesting. 

"Obi-Wan, you really shouldn't do this." 

"Amaele, just give me five minutes with her." Obi-Wan said as he walked into the room. Kelilah looked at him with a blank expression on her face. Obi-Wan on the other hand had a look of utter disbelief. 

"I honestly can't believe that you could do something like this." He said to her. 

"I didn't mean to." Kelilah whispered. 

"Didn't mean to?! You slit you wrists! How can you not mean to?!" Obi-Wan shouted at her.   

"It's complicated! You wouldn't understand!" Kelilah shot back 

"Then explain it to me!" Obi-Wan waited for her to answer him with anything but she remained silent. "Forget it." He said and turned to leave. 

She watched him turn "It was him." she said and didn't know why she said anything but she did. Obi-Wan turned back.  

"What?" 

"It was him." She repeated looking down at her hands. Obi-Wan moved over to the right side of the bed and sat down waiting for her to continue. "His name is Nurgal. He's the man that attacked us in the memorial hall.  The man you saw in my vision. It's him. He's doing all this." 

"Senator Basilio told us that he is after you." 

Kelilah nodded. "When my mother was pregnant with me, she had left my father because his family disapproved of their being together. She had nowhere to go and some how Nurgal found her. He took her into the cult. After I was born and they discovered that I was considerably force sensitive, Nurgal became convinced that I was this fulfillment of a prophecy. That I was destined to lead their cult to greatness or something." She looked up at him "Does any of this sounds familiar?" 

Obi-Wan nodded. "Reminds me of that chosen one myth." 

"That's because it's taken directly from it. Only it's completely false. One of the older leaders came up with it to keep people from straying from the faith but Nurgal believe in it wholeheartedly." 

"Why didn't you say any of this earlier?" 

"Obi-Wan you have no idea what you are dealing with." Kelilah said looking at him intently. "When the Sith Shane was alive he never trained any of his followers to their full potential. So that way they could never over power him. After he died the followers didn't know what to do so they just continued with the way things were. A leader with the most power was chosen and they trained the way Shane had trained them. But Nurgal has some how taught himself to use the power of suggestion in a way that out performs even some of the most powerful Siths of the past." She looked away. "It's his voice you hear it and he make you do things, make your body do things. The first couple murders looked like suicides because they were! He made them do it to themselves, like he made me slit my wrists. The next few where just him showing off what he can do." 

Obi-Wan was having a little trouble digesting all this information at once. "If he is after you, why did her try to kill you?" 

"Obi-Wan, if he wanted me dead, I would be dead." 

"Despite all that if you knew who the killer was, why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I know what they say about me." Kelilah said. "The other Padawans.  They say I'm a snob and I think I'm better then everyone else. Imagine what they will say if I let it out that I have visions of people being killed and a wannabe sith is after me because he believes I'm destined to become a leader for them." She looked back down. "Now that I think about it. It was foolish to keep it to myself. Many of the victims would still be alive if I had said something." Tears began to fill her eyes. She covered her face with her right hand and began to cry. Obi-Wan saw the restraints that were strapped to the bed and thought it odd that she wasn't wearing them. But he drove that thought from his mind and placed a hand on her shoulder and began to rub it gentle in an attempt to calm her. 

Kelilah slide the syringe out of the left sleeve and into her left hand. Then in quick motion stabbed the syringe into Obi-Wan's arm. The young man gave a small cry of shock and pain. He looked down at the needle then up at her. "I'm sorry Obi-Wan but this is how it has to be. I have to end this one way or another." The drug began to take effect and Obi-Wan began to feel drowsy. 

Kelilah got out of the hospital bed and went the closet and retrieved her clothes. After dressing she looked back at Obi-Wan who was now on the floor of the room. She was sorry for what she did but it was necessary. She had to do this and Obi-Wan would most likely go after her once he found out.  

She climbed out the window and made a not to graceful drop down into the gardens. The after recovering from the landing she made her way towards one of the landing platforms. 


	7. Chapter 6 Dance with the Devil

Chapter 6

Dance with the devil 

Qui-Gon stood outside the room where his prone padawan laid on a bed. The Jedi Master had received a message from Amaele about his padawan's condition, while the healers were performing some blood tests to determine what the boy had been injected with. 

When he had first arrived he had demanded to know how Obi-Wan was doing. The healers reassured him that the boy had a steady heartbeat and appeared to be in no apparent danger. "It was only a mild sedative, nothing too serious. He should be awake in no time." As the healer finished the young man in the bed began to stir from his drug-induced slumber. 

Qui-Gon rushed into the room and over to his padawan's side. Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked up at his master. The young man looked to his left and right. "Unbelievable." He muttered closing his eyes. "What happened?" He asked struggling to sit up. The sedative was taking its time wearing off and he still felt a bit woozy.  

"That psycho drugged you, then ran off." Amaele said bluntly appearing in the doorway. Obi-Wan looked at her a bit confused. 

"Kelilah injected you with sedative and left the healers ward through the window." Qui-Gon explained.  Obi-Wan thought for a moment and the events that took place before he slipped into unconsciousness began to become clear. He remembered Kelilah had started to cry and he had tried to comfort her. He looked down at him arm as he remembered her stabbing him with the syringe. There was a bandage around his arm now. _"I'm sorry Obi-Wan but this is how it has to be. I have to end this one way or another." _She had said that right before the world around him went dark. 

Suddenly a feeling of urgency filled him. "We have to go find her! She is going after Nurgal and—" 

"Obi-Wan calm down. The council has already sent teams of Jedi out to find her." Qui-Gon said placing a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"No they won't get to her in time. We have to."  Obi-Wan said as he slid off the hospital bed. When his feet hit the ground and he tried to support his own weight, he stumbled a bit but quickly caught himself. 

Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan began to walk out of the room. Amaele tried blocking his path by standing in the middle of the doorway. "I don't understand what you are doing." She said. "This girl treats you like you're the scum of the galaxy. She's the reason you land in the healer's ward twice in two days and one of those times was done by her own hand! Yet you still try and defend her?" 

"Move Amaele." Obi-Wan said but the girl held her ground but all Obi-Wan had to do was stare her down and the healer apprentice stepped aside. 

As Obi-Wan walked out into the hall Amaele turned to Qui-Gon helplessly. "Master Jinn please, talk some sense into him." She pleaded with the man. 

"Amaele I share your concerns but I trust Obi-Wan's instincts." Qui-Gon said gently. 

"But—" Amaele began but Qui-Gon silenced her. He smiled slightly 

"Obi-Wan has always remained loyal to me when I go off and fight for a cause I believe worthy. I Think I owe it to him to show the same loyalty." Qui-Gon said then left the young woman alone. 

Amaele walked over to the bed and sat down. "Am I the only one left with common sense?" She asked turning her face skywards. 

"Master, we have no idea where Kelilah is, so where are we going?" Obi-Wan asked as Qui-Gon climbed into a speeder. 

"Security Force headquarters." Qui-Gon said as Obi-Wan climbed into the passengers seat. Qui-Gon started the speeder and the two drove away form the temple. "I think Senator Basilio would know where Kelilah would be heading." 

The Security Force headquarters was crowded with officers booking criminals, questioning suspects or witness and heading out to crime scenes. No one seemed to notice the two Jedi walk in Qui-Gon looked over the heads of people trying to find any sign of Arsene or even officer Kivi. 

Qui-Gon walked up to the front desk. A female Twi'lek with red skin sat behind it talking on a comlink. "I don't know what she was thinking wearing that outfit last night." The Twi'lek said into the comlink. "And then she has the nerve to show up with Scyros!" 

Qui-Gon tried to get the aliens attention. They had very little time to spare but the Twi'lek acted as though she didn't even see the two Jedi standing in front of her. "Excuse me." Qui-Gon said in stern tone. The Twi'lek looked up at the Jedi.

"I'm going to have to call you back." The Twi'lek said to the person on the other end of the comlink and cut the transmission. "Can I help you?" She said with a bit of an attitude, clearly not liking her conversation cut short. 

"Did Inspector Arsene and Officer Kivi arrive here with Senator Arsene?" Qui-Gon asked. 

"Yes. They arrived a short time ago and are in the Inspector's office." The Twi'lek replied with a forced smile. 

"Thank you." Qui-On said and he and Obi-Wan started down the hall towards Inspector Arsene's office. As they drew closer Obi-Wan began to feel that something was wrong.

They reached the door and Qui-Gon knocked. After waiting and receiving no reply, the Jedi opened the door and walked into the office. He stopped when he entered. Senator Basilio sat dead in the chair behind the desk shot in the chest and Officer Kivi laid on the floor unconscious.  

Qui-Gon hurried over to Kivi and kneeled down by the man. He felt for a pulse and was relieved to find a steady heart beat. The man just appeared to have been struck in the back of the head with something hard.   

Obi-Wan still stood in the doorway. The conversation he had with Drell surfaced again. _"You think there could be someone working on the inside?" _He remembered asking Drell after the other padawan had given his input on the case. "Where's Inspector Arsene?" He wondered aloud.  

"Right here kid." A voice behind him said. Obi-Wan turned and came face to face with the muzzle of a blaster. Arsene motioned for him to step further into the office. Obi-Wan stepped back until he reached the desk. Qui-Gon came up beside him. "Nothing personal boys but I have a job to do." 

"Withholding important information to lead to this killer one of them?" 

"As a matter of fact it is. Two years ago I was working missing person cases in the outer rim, which is the worst place to be if you're a security force personnel. A man approached me and offered me a job. I turned him down at first, claimed it went against what I had gone into this type of work for but when he offered me a position on Coruscant I couldn't resist." 

"Then why did you give us the data on the other victims and the tattoo?" Obi-Wan asked. 

"Really worthless information unless you have some one to explain it to you and besides I didn't want you getting suspicious. I know about you Master Jinn, about you and your apprentice solving the murder of Senator S'orn's son. I couldn't very well do my dirty work with you two around." She walked to Kivi and stood over his body. "I was going to say that Officer Kivi here was the one who killed the Senator and I bravely subdued him but then you had to appear! So now I have to do away with both of you." 

"You are in Security Force Headquarters filled with officers I do not think you will get far."  Qui-Gon said in his usual cool manner. Arsene smiled. Behind her on the ground Kivi began to stir.

"Master Jinn you have no idea what you are dealing with. This man has many, many connections in the Security force and the Senate. I could kill you right in the lobby of the Security Force headquarters and I would get away with it." Her finger tightened on the trigger of the blaster.

_Crack! _

Arsene fell to the ground unconscious. Kivi stood behind her holding his blaster after hitting her in the back of the head with the butt of the weapon. "See how you like it." He said scornfully and rubbed the back of his head. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On the other side of town in one of the market districts, Drell was finishing up the errand that his Master had sent him on. He jumped into the driver's seat of the speeder and took off into the airways. He sat back as he drove with the radio blasting out the latest hit single from a new band coming out of Corellia. 

He was singing along with the refrain of the song that was quite catchy, when he began to feel slight trickles of warning form the force. His singing trailed off as looked around at his surroundings. 

Then just as he turned his eyes from ahead of him, a speeder coming from the opposite direction cut in front of him. "Oh force!" He cried out as he turned sharply to avoid hitting the other speeder. He looked back and got a good look at the driver. It was Kelilah. Drell turned around and began to follow her. 

Obi-Wan walked out into the lobby of the security force headquarters. They had taken Inspector Arsene into custody but unless they found Kelilah and this Nurgal, Obi-Wan was sure that the woman would walk.

He sighed in frustration. The only person that could have told them where Kelilah would be heading was dead and Obi-Wan couldn't seem to track Kelilah down through the force. He wasn't sure if she was blocking him or he wasn't focusing enough. He walked over to a bench and sat down.  Maybe Amaele was right. Kelilah treated him badly for no reason that he knew of, yet he still wanted to help her. Why? 

His comlink began beeping. "Yeah?" He said after activating it. 

"Hey Obi, your not going to believe this." It was Drell. "I ran into your girlfriend, or almost ran into her anyway." 

"Drell what are you talking about?" Obi-Wan asked. He was too tired for games. 

"Kelilah. The girl cut me off and I almost hit her. I followed her down to the lower levels. I'm parked out side of this building she went into." 

"Drell stay right where you are!" Obi-Wan said urgently then cut the transmission. He ran out of the lobby and back into Arsene's office where Qui-Gon and Officer Kivi were. 

Drell waited by his speeder for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to arrive. He didn't particularly like being in this part of town at night. There was little activity at the moment but around the dark corners of the lower levels anything could happen. He heard a speeder coming towards him and relaxed as he saw it was Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. 

The two Jedi exited the speeder and walked over to Drell. "She went in there." He said pointing towards and entrance. "Nothing has happened since." Qui-Gon looked to where Drell was indicating. He turned to the other padawan. 

"Drell, contact the council and wait for them to send the other Jedi teams here." Qui-Gon instructed. Drell nodded and got into his speeder. Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan who appeared to be anxious to get moving. "Calm yourself Padawan." The Jedi Master said. Obi-Wan took a deep breath and exhaled. Once Qui-Gon was sure Obi-Wan had calmed his nerves the two made their way to the entrance. 

Once inside, the two Jedi came to a long corridor with doors lining each side. Cautiously they made their way to the other end. With his nerves calmed Obi-Wan could feel Kelilah's force presence. 

They walked until Obi-Wan stopped at the forth door on the right. This is where he felt the force presence the strongest. Qui-Gon moved over to the other side of the door. Him and Obi-Wan now stood in either side with their bodies pressed against the wall.  Qui-Gon opened the door. Qui-Gon looked inside to see if everything was clear. Once sure that it was, the two walked into the room. 

The room was small and empty but there was another passage way and the two Jedi went straight for that. At the end of this passage way was an archway guarded by two heavily armed men. The two Jedi crept up to the archway as close as they could get without catching the attention of the guards they pressed their bodies against the walls. 

"So you have finally come to me." They heard a voice say. Qui-Gon motioned to Obi-Wan who walked over to Qui-Gon's side. Obi-Wan could now see Kelilah holding a blaster, raised to the same man that had attacked them in the memorial hall. 

"I have not come to join you." Kelilah said coldly. 

"Then that presents a problem." Nurgal said. "I had so much hope for you Kelilah." AS he spoke the blaster that Kelilah held moved from being pointed at Nurgal's chest to the side of her head. "But if you will not join then you will suffer the same fate as the other. It's funny in a way. For years I have been trying to take you but there was always someone to protect you: your mother, your master and now that boy but no more. It's end of game." 

Obi-Wan had to hold back from crying out to get Kelilah's attention but that would only doom them all. So he tried something else. //Kelilah! // He called through the force. 

Obi-Wan's message broke into her thoughts. Kelilah snapped out of her trance. She lowered the blaster and looked around confused. "Obi-Wan?" She asked. Nurgal too looked around at their surroundings and then spotted the two Jedi I the archway. 

"Guards!" He said. The two men standing at the archway turned and drew their weapons, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon took out their lightsabers. Obi-Wan brought his lightsaber down, injuring the man's arm and causing him to drop his weapon. The guard grabbed his arm in pain. Obi-Wan spin-kicked him and the man went down. To disarm his attacker, Qui-Gon kicked the blaster from the man's hands then crouched down, kicking the guard's feet out from under him. 

With the guards taken care of, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon walked into the room, lightsabers held up. Nurgal grabbed Kelilah by the wrists; the blaster fell from her grasp. Nurgal twisted her arm behind her back. He grabbed her head with the other hand and tilted it to the right. "Do you see this?" He asked Kelilah's shoulder length hair fell behind her shoulder revealing the 'Mark of Shane' tattooed an inch below her left ear. "This means she is one of use. The Jedi stole her and I am rightfully taking her back." Kelilah struggled in Nurgal's grasp. 

Nurgal looked over to Qui-Gon. "It must have been tiring to hunt me down. And with all the stress of the investigation I'm sure your heart can't take it all." As he spoke Qui-Gon grabbed his chest finding it suddenly hard to breath. The big Jedi kneeled down. Obi-Wan looked at his master. He heard Nurgal say, "Lower your weapon and I will let him go." Obi-Wan looked up at Kelilah uncertain what to do. 

"Obi-Wan, lower your weapon!" Kelilah shouted. "My life is not worth his!" Obi-Wan looked back at Qui-Gon. He doubted that Nurgal would let his master live or any of them for that matter. So he did what he believed best. He charged Nurgal. 

Nurgal threw Kelilah to the side and drew his lightsaber. He blocked Obi-Wan's first blow and returned one of his own. Obi-Wan ducked out of the way of the lightsaber and stepped back. He chanced a look at his master for a split second. Nurgal had lost his concentration on the Jedi Master and there fore lost his hold on the man. Obi-Wan turned back to Nurgal and went at him from the side. 

On the ground a few feet away Kelilah watched as the two fought. She looked over and saw her blaster lying on the ground. She called on the force and the blaster slide over to her. She picked up the weapon and raised it towards Nurgal. 

Obi-Wan brought his lightsaber up to block a blow and then down to block another. He kicked Nurgal in the midsection and sent the man flying into the wall behind them. Obi-Wan was ready to make another attack when he heard the shot of a blaster ring out. He turned and saw Kelilah holding up a blaster. She pulled the trigger again and again. 

Blaster fire ripped though Nurgal's chest and midsection. He leaned against the wall and slide down it. The fight was over. 

Obi-Wan ran over to Qui-Gon. "Are you all right?" He asked urgently. Qui-Gon nodded coughing a bit. He pointed over to Kelilah. 

"See how she is." The master managed to say. Obi-Wan was hesitant to leave his master's side but went over to Kelilah. The girl still held the blaster up rigidly. Obi-Wan walked over to her and kneeled down by her side. 

"Kelilah you okay?" Obi-Wan asked but the girl didn't answer. "Okay give Obi-wan the blaster." Obi-Wan said as he took it from her grasp. He placed the blaster down on the ground, then put his hands on her shoulders and turned towards him till he was looking into her eyes. "Hey, you okay." She nodded numbly but then shook her head as her eyes filled up with tears. She leaned into him and began to sob on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be okay." He whispered and kissed the top of her head.

Epilogue

Smile Like a Sunrise

Obi-Wan walked through the temple gardens. After what had happened it was a nice relaxation method. As he walked he saw a figure sitting in the grass by the water. He smiled when he saw that it was Kelilah. He had not spoken to her since they had gotten back to the temple and she was taken directly to the healer's after that. He had sought her out the next day but the healer's said that she needed rest and really shouldn't have any visitors. 

He walked over to her and sat down. At first he thought that she would tell him to leave but to his surprise she said, "I'm sorry." in a soft voice that was barely audible. Obi-Wan looked over to her confused. She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry," She said a bit louder, "for the way I've been treating you." 

"Don't worry about it. I'm use to blind hatred." She looked at him sadly. 

"It was never anything personal against you, Obi-Wan."

"Kelilah, it's okay." The silence grew between them again.

"What happened to Inspector Arsene?" Kelilah asked. She had heard about the inspector's involvement with the murders. 

"Megara Arsene is to stand trial soon and she won't walk either." Obi-Wan said with a satisfied smile. Kelilah nodded. 

"Good."

"How are you doing now that it's over?" Obi-Wan asked. 

"The council has restricted me to temple grounds and I have to see a mind healer and take this medication they have to keep me relaxed for the time being but despite all that I feel…good." 

"That would be the medication." Obi-Wan said but Kelilah shook her head. 

"No it's something else. Like a weight has been lifted form my shoulders or something." She looked out over the water. "I know I should be grieving for all those lives lost but I can't right now. I will eventually though." 

"Well you know if you need to talk to anyone, the offer still stands." 

"Thanks." Obi-Wan stood up. 

"I have to meet Drell for a practice duel. I'll see you around Kel." He said then began back down the path, Kelilah over to him. 

"What did you call me?" She asked. Obi-Wan looked back. 

"Kel." He said turning towards her. She looked back out to the water a fond smile crossing her face. 

"My Master used to call me that."  

"Oh, I'm sorry Kelilah." Obi-Wan said quickly thinking that he had upset her reminding her of her master. 

"No," Kelilah said turning back to him. "I like it."   


End file.
